Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began working Wednesday to form a coalition government with nationalist and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties after his conservative Likud scored a resounding and surprising victory following a fractious election campaign.

Netanyahu said that he had spoken with the heads of five other parties that he hoped to bring into his government, adding that he hopes to complete the delicate task in "two to three weeks."

"The reality isn't waiting on us," Netanyahu said in a statement. "Reality isn't taking a break. The citizens of Israel expect us to quickly put together a leadership that will work for the sake of the country's security, economy, and society as we promised to do, and that is what I will do."

Also Wednesday, Netanyahu's main rival, Isaac Herzog of the centrist Zionist Union confirmed that he had called the incumbent to congratulate him on his victory.

"I wished him luck, but let it be clear, the problems are the same problems, nothing has changed," said Herzog, who attempted to make economic and social issues the focus of the campaign in contrast to Netanyahu's focus on security. Herzog also vowed that his party would serve as "an alternative in every area" to Likud.

According to official results reported in Israeli media early Wednesday, Likud had won at least 29 seats in the 120-member Knesset, five more than Herzog's centrist Zionist Union. No other party had more than 14 seats, and a party or coalition must have at least 61 seats to form a government. A key bloc that could sew up Netanyahu's premiership is Kulanu, another centrist party lead by former government minister Moshe Kahlon that was projected to earn 10 seats in the latest figures.

"I am loyal to my way," he told his supporters, saying he would work to form a government committed to social justice.

Likud significantly outperformed all the polls in the run-up to the election, all of which had predicted a second-place finish for the party behind the Zionist Union. Netanyahu claimed victory early Wednesday in a speech to cheering supporters at party headquarters in Tel Aviv.

"Against all the odds we obtained a great victory for the Likud," Netanyahu told the gathering. "Now we must form a strong and stable government that will ensure Israel's security and welfare," he added, in comments aimed at Kahlon.

At a rally of his supporters, Herzog had vowed to do his utmost to form a government and said he too had reached out to potential coalition partners. However, his effort to build a coalition was complicated by the possibility of having to rely on support from a new Arab alliance that was projected to capture 14 seats. But Arab parties have never sat in an Israeli coalition before.

Stav Shaffir, a leader of the Zionist Union, called the results a "clear vote of no confidence in Netanyahu."

Netanyahu had ruled out a "unity" government with the Zionist Union that would give him a broader coalition, and Herzog had also been cool to the idea without explicitly dismissing the prospect.

President Reuven Rivlin will now spend the next few days consulting with the various parties, whose leaders will all offer recommendations for who should be prime minister.

The final weeks of the campaign had become a referendum on Netanyahu, a towering figure in Israeli politics who has spent more time as Prime Minister than anyone except the country's founding father, David Ben-Gurion.

Netanyahu, who already has a testy relationship with President Barack Obama, took a sharp turn to the right in the final days of the campaign, staking out a series of hard-line positions that will put him at odds with the international community.

In his most dramatic policy reversal, he said he now opposes the creation of a Palestinian state — a key policy goal of the White House and the international community. He also promised to expand construction in Jewish areas of east Jerusalem, the section of the city claimed by the Palestinians as their capital.

Netanyahu infuriated the White House early this month when he delivered a speech to the U.S. Congress criticizing an emerging nuclear deal with Iran. The speech was arranged with Republican leaders and not coordinated with the White House ahead of time.

In Washington, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama was confident strong U.S.-Israeli ties would endure far beyond the election regardless of the victor.

The Palestinians, fed up after years of deadlock with Netanyahu, are now likely to press ahead with their attempts to bring war crimes charges against Israel in the International Criminal Court.

"What Netanyahu is doing and stating are war crimes and if the international community wants peace it should make Netanyahu accountable for his acts," said Palestinian official Saeb Erekat. He said the Palestinian leadership will meet Thursday to discuss its next steps.

Ed Note: The Israeli Voters have spoken. Israel will be safe...Netanyahu won despite the adversarial efforts of his rivals and Oblahma's trolls. Oblahma had better wake up and realize who the true friends of the USA are.

__________________"We've made many compromises already, too many retreats. They invade our space
and we fall back. They assimilate entire worlds and we fall back. Not again. The line
must be drawn here! This far, no farther!"~ Capt. Jean-Luc Picard, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D).

Spring may be days away but don't count on a thaw in the chilly relationship between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the White House -- which, even after election results showed Netanyahu's party scoring a major victory, initially congratulated the Israeli people but ignored the winning candidate.

The election results point to another two years of confrontation between President Obama and his Israeli counterpart, who is poised to secure a third consecutive term as prime minister.

In its first public response to Netanyahu's triumph in the election, White House spokesman Josh Earnest even chided Netanyahu's Likud Party. He said the White House was "deeply concerned" about divisive language emanating from Likud and said the party had sought to marginalize Israel's minority Arabs, an apparent reference to social media posts the Likud distributed that warned Israelis about the danger of high turnout by Arab voters.

"These are views the administration intends to convey directly to the Israelis," Earnest said.

While tensions have flared for years between the two leaders, the last several weeks have seen their relationship further fray.

In the run-up to the election, Netanyahu took a hardline stance on the two issues on which his government and the Obama administration are most intertwined -- Iran nuclear talks and the seemingly far-off prospects for an agreement with the Palestinians.

Netanyahu pronounced earlier this week he would not allow the creation of a Palestinian state -- something Obama supports and a key demand of the Palestinians for any peace agreement. On Wednesday, Earnest said the U.S. would "re-evaluate" its position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in light of Netanyahu's comments, while stressing that Obama believes a two-state solution is best. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki later clarified that the administration "absolutely" will continue to push for a Palestinian state.

Netanyahu also infuriated the White House early this month when he delivered a speech to the U.S. Congress criticizing an emerging nuclear deal with Iran.

Secretary of State John Kerry and other international negotiators are scrambling to reach the framework for an Iran deal by the end of the month. Netanyahu, though, has warned that the details he's seen provide for Iran to eventually pursue a nuclear weapon years down the road, and has urged the U.S. to scrap the pending deal.

With the victory of his Likud Party, Netanyahu is stronger-positioned to keep making that case on the international stage -- and needle Obama administration efforts to etch an agreement with Tehran.

Earnest said Wednesday that Kerry has called to congratulate Netanyahu. Obama has not yet, but will in the coming days, according to Earnest. A day earlier, he insisted that Obama has "no doubt" that the strong U.S.-Israel bond will endure "far beyond this election" no matter the result.

But David Axelrod, a former top adviser to Obama, tweeted overnight as returns were coming in: "Tightness of exits in Israel suggests Bibi's shameful 11th hour demagoguery may have swayed enough votes to save him. But at what cost?"

Speaking on CNN on Wednesday, White House Director of Political Strategy David Simas congratulated the Israeli people -- but notably, not Netanyahu personally.

"We want to congratulate the Israeli people for the democratic process of the election they engaged in with all of the parties that engage in that election," he said. "As you know the hard work of coalition building now begins. Sometimes that takes a couple of weeks and we're going to give space to the formation of that coalition government and we're not going to weigh in one way of the other except to say that the United States and Israel have a historic and close relationship and that will continue going forward."

Indeed, Netanyahu's next step would be to build a coalition government.

With nearly all the votes counted, Likud appeared to have earned 30 out of parliament's 120 seats and was in a position to build with relative ease a coalition government with its nationalist, religious and ultra-Orthodox Jewish allies.

The election was widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu, who has governed the country for the past six years. Recent opinion polls indicated he was in trouble, giving chief rival Isaac Herzog of the opposition Zionist Union a slight lead. Exit polls Tuesday showed the two sides deadlocked but once the actual results came pouring in early Wednesday, Likud soared forward. Zionist Union wound up with just 24 seats.

Even before the final results were known, Netanyahu declared victory and pledged to form a new government quickly.

"Against all odds, we achieved a great victory for the Likud," Netanyahu told supporters at his election night headquarters. "I am proud of the people of Israel, who in the moment of truth knew how to distinguish between what is important and what is peripheral, and to insist on what is important."

Netanyahu focused his campaign primarily on security issues, while his opponents instead pledged to address the country's high cost of living and accused the leader of being out of touch with everyday people.

While his victory may rattle the Obama administration, conservatives worried about the Iran talks saw Netanyahu's election as a strong sign.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who is weighing another presidential bid, said in a written statement that "it is time for the U.S. government to stand with Israel once again." He told Fox News on Wednesday that Netanyahu has a clear "mandate" and argued this is good not only for the U.S. but also other Middle Eastern countries worried about the prospect of a nuclear Iran.

"The worst thing that can happen is to trust Iran," Huckabee said.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who also is flirting with another Republican presidential bid, likewise said in a statement Wednesday that, "It is my great hope that our next President will be able to stand side-by-side with Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu" to "defeat this Radical Islamist enemy and ensure Iran never develops a nuclear weapon."

Ed Note: Amazing the elections are barely over in Israel and the Democrats and fools in the Whitehouse are busy chiding, undermining and generally bad-mouthing Netanyahu's victory because he refuses to recognize a Palestinian State. Or, is it because Israel is not a Muslim state. After all, Obama is a closet Muslim.